MHI and Chengxi Shipyard to collaborate on BWTS retrofits

MAY 7, 2013 — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Chengxi Shipyard (Xinrong) Co., Ltd. in China are to collaborate on the installation of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS). By combining MHI's advanced technologies and experience in ship conversion work, including BWTS installation, with Chengxi Shipyard (Xinrong)'s ability to respond to ship conversion needs and cost competitiveness, the two companies look to establish an advantageous position in the global market in this field.

MHI experience in ballast water treatment technology includes "BWTS in a box" jointly developed with MOL

The two companies have agreed to closely collaborate throughout the BWTS retrofitting process: from BWTS marketing, system selection and design to actual installation work with customer needs. MHI will provide the drawings needed to undertake the retrofits and will dispatch supervisors to the site in China when necessary. It will also conduct training for engineers from the Chinese shipyard at its Yokohama Dockyard & Machinery Works.

MHI says the talks that resulted in the collaboration were conducted with the cooperative assistance of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

When an order is received calling for retrofitting of BWTS on multiple ships of the same type, engineers from Chengxi Shipyard (Xinrong) will participate in work on the first ship at MHI's Yokohama plant, in order to acquire the necessary know-how. Subsequent work on the other ships will then be undertaken primarily at the Chinese shipyard. This arrangement will enable work to be performed on more ships in a short period at lower cost.

Chengxi Shipyard Co., Ltd is a subsidiary company of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), one of China's two largest state-owned shipbuilding-related groups. Its main office and plant are located in Jiangyin and Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province, along the Yangtze River.

In April 2011, MHI became the first Japanese shipbuilder to establish a dedicated unit to handle BWTS retrofit operations, and in January this year the company's basic design of an easy-to-install freight container-enclosed BWTS - jointly developed with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) - received concept approval from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).

MHI says it views the new collaborative arrangement with Chengxi Shipyard (Xinrong) as a significant step forward in terms of both its BWTS installation business and its engineering operations, and it intends to leverage this development as a springboard to new business opportunities.